A Heathrow immigration official and a retired Hong Kong police officer have been jailed for a total of 18 years after being convicted of spying for China.
Dual Chinese-British national Peter Wai, 40, conducted “shadow policing” operations on Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters and dissidents living in the UK on the orders of Bill Yuen, 65.
Wai, of Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, and Yuen, from Hackney, were jailed at the Old Bailey by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb for 10 years and eight years respectively.
In a televised sentencing, the judge said the defendants’ actions were “deliberate, concerted, and serious”. They had caused “real and significant” harm, leaving those targeted in fear and distress, the judge said. She described Wai’s attitude towards his misconduct as “arrogant”, saying he had a “sense of entitlement” to do as he pleased.
The case is one of the first to be prosecuted under the National Security Act, which came into force in 2023. The convictions have triggered fresh tensions between Britain and Beijing, just months after claims that China was targeting Parliament. They will also raise new questions over why the Government gave the go-ahead for China to build a super-embassy in Tower Hamlets, despite concerns that it could be used as a huge spying centre, targeting the City.
The court heard how Wai abused his position to gather intelligence on targets and was asked to pay “special attention” to British politicians, including senior Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith. At the time, ex-Metropolitan Police officer Wai was working at Heathrow Airport for the UK Border Force, as a special constable with City of London Police, and had set up a private security firm.
His taskmaster and handler, ex-Hong Kong superintendent Yuen, was a senior manager at the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office in London, said to be an extension in the UK of the Hong Kong government. Yuen, who was living in Hackney, was linked directly back to the Chinese Security Bureau through his contact with another ex-police chief, the Old Bailey has heard.
Wai and Yuen were arrested after a failed bid to snatch a former Hong Kong resident, Monica Kwong, from her flat in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, on May 1 2024. Following a two-month trial, the pair were convicted of assisting a foreign intelligence service under the National Security Act 2023. Former Metropolitan Police officer Wai was also convicted of misconduct in a public office by searching the Home Office computer system for people of interest to Hong Kong authorities.
Wai and Yuen had been accused alongside Matthew Trickett, 37, an immigration enforcement officer and ex-Royal Marine, who was found dead in woodland near Maidenhead, Berkshire, a week after being charged.
Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang was summoned to the Foreign Office after the two men were found guilty last month. The then security minister Dan Jarvis, who was recently made Defence Secretary, said the men's activities were "an infringement of our sovereignty and will never be tolerated". "We will continue to hold China to account and challenge them directly for actions which put the safety of people in our country at risk," he insisted despite criticism of the Government for allegedly being too soft on Beijing.
With China pressing ahead with its new mega-embassy in London, local residents recently raised concerns after razor wire was put up at the proposed diplomatic site, the former Royal Mint Court building, near the Tower of London.
